That was the dessert that his girlfriend Maria Antonieta Luna Avalos delivered to his hideout in the colonial town of Morelia on Feb. 6 which happened to be his 49th birthday. When authorities observed that errand coupled with some shoddy spycraft by his handpicked messenger a federal police team was able to capture him in the pre-dawn hours of Friday without a shot fired.

"Michoacan now is in a better position" Federal Police Commissioner Enrique Galindo Ceballos said. "The important parts of the [cartel] structure are neutralized."

For more than a year the Mexican government has fought the cartel while also struggling to keep in check the citizens' militia that rose against the Knights Templar. More than 1500 people have been arrested authorities said and nearly all the top leaders have now been killed or captured.

A careless messenger allowed tracking of Gomez leading to his capture.